The House of Hades
by alakarox
Summary: Percy and Annabeth have fallen into Tartarus, facing the worst creatures alive... or rather, dead. Meanwhile, above ground, the remainder of the seven must stop the next civil war, return the gigantic statue of Athena to Olympus, and sail to Epirus to rescue Percy and Annabeth, and close the Doors of Death. P.S. RICK RIORDAN OWNS P.J.O. AND H.O.O. AND ALL CHARACTERS
1. Chapter 1: Jason

** Jason**

The cavern was dark and cold. Except for sets of gleaming red and yellow eyes, scattered along the walls, the place had no light. Jason could barely make out two figures, a girl with blonde hair, and a guy with jet black hair, and sea green eyes.

_Percy and Annabeth, _Jason realized. He tried to call out to them, but his voice didn't work. He looked down.

Under them was a pool of black, and Jason realized that it was just more space. The pit kept going _forever_.

Annabeth was passed out, and the only thing that kept her from separating from Percy was the hold that Percy had on her hand. Jason saw a spread of blue and green and purple and yellow through her bubble wrap cast. He realized she had probably hit her ankle somehow while falling, and had passed out from the pain.

Percy wasn't looking too good either. Bruises dotted his arms like chicken pox, and his left shoulder was jutting out unnaturally. It was dislocated, Jason thought. Severely. He was moaning in pain, and as he tried to use the shoulder, he gasped in pain and shut his eyes. Jason saw his mouth opening but no sounds came out, like a silent scream. Jason realized that Percy was trying hard _not _to scream.

Jason stared up. The sky was a pool of crimson red, like blood, with dark thunder clouds spitting out black lightning.

He tried again to call out to Percy. No luck. It was like he could feel himself talking, but he was mute, and he couldn't hear the sound that came out.

Suddenly there was a growl. It was deep and gravelly, and sounded canine. Jason turned toward the direction of the sound. A set of red eyes stared back, and out of the shadows came a gigantic German Shepherd. It was all red, and it was roughly the size of a house. Huge muscles pulsed out from its arms, tight and stiff.

Its fangs were bared, each one at least the size of a street light, yellow and sharp. Drool dripped from its mouth, and black wings sprouted from its back as it flew down after them.

The dog spoke. "_What is this? A treat from Gaea? She shouldn't have!_" The dog cackled, which sounded suspiciously like boulders hitting the ground after a thousand-foot drop.

Instinctively, Jason reached for his _gladius_. But where it should have been, there was empty space. He didn't have his sword with him. He cursed.

The dog spoke again. "_If I am to devour you, I should tell you who I am, so that when you die, you can say that the great Tartarus has killed you!_"

Jason's eyes widened. The dog was Tartarus, the spirit of the pit.

Percy tried to react. "You know, I would tell you to go to the crows, but clearly, you already have it worse." He grimaced in pain; the talking had taken too much energy out of him.

Tartarus lunged, and Percy drew his sword just in time to slice off the dog's paw. Jason watched as it went sailing down into the pit.

But instead of turning into Doggy Dust like he should have, Tartarus simply cackled and howled. Jason stared in horror as the paw grew back, but with twice as many claws.

"_Ha! You cannot kill me in my home, demigod! I am all powerful! I am the father of the Giants!"_

With that happy thought, Tartarus lunged again, and his claws raked Percy in the leg.

Percy screamed in agony, but miraculously kept his grip on Annabeth. Tartarus stepped easily onto a ledge while passing by it.

"_I think I'll keep you alive so I can have a bit more fun. See you around… if you somehow survive all my monsters_," Tartarus yelled down at Percy.

Jason struggled to push himself towards Percy, but suddenly felt a rush of cold on his head, like he had been dunked into the Antarctic Ocean. His vision fogged over, and everything changed.

"Yo, dude, wake up already!" Leo called down at Jason.

Jason woke up, and heard a clap of thunder. He blinked, and saw rivulets of cold water trickling down his shirt and neck.

Leo was holding a metal bucket, and it was pointed toward Jason. "Sorry, man, I didn't want to do this, but you slept so hard you could've been dead. No other way to wake you up." He grinned. "Not to say I didn't enjoy it, though."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Leo. Okay, I'll be down in a few."

Leo nodded and left.

Jason rolled out of bed, and stumbled into the shower. After a warm shower, he threw on dark jeans and a purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt. The shirt made him homesick.

_Camp Jupiter isn't home anymore. _Jason thought sadly. _I've crossed the Mare Nostrum, into Rome. I'm an outcast, and a renegade. They'll kill me the first chance they get. _But still, the shirt reminded him of all the time he'd had there. Training with his sword. Competing in the war games. Marching with his army to attack Mount Othrys.

Jason walked down to the mess hall.

Right in the middle of a huge battle.


	2. Chapter 2: Jason

** N**

All of his friends were backed against the walls, with their heads turned away, screaming in fear. Jason turned to see what they were scared of.

He immediately wished he hadn't.

He saw a group of disgusting demons, with long vipers for hair; so long the snakes almost reached the ground. Their eyes were pure black, shining and smooth like a marble. Their claws were almost as long as Jason's _gladius_, and there were at least five rows of them. They were extremely tall, about a foot taller than Jason himself, and long, five-inch long fangs protruded from their mouths. They wore rucksack dresses, and as far as Jason could tell, they were female.

"Another victim! I believe you are Jason. Porphyrion has told me about you. The great Jason Grace! You do not look promising." One of the demons spoke to him. She looked to be the leader, because a barbed wire circlet sat on top of her head.

"Who are you? Leave my friends alone, and maybe I'll spare you." Jason said, trying to sound confident.

The demon cackled. "Spoken as if we were at this puny creature's mercy!" All the other demons cackled too. "We are the _kobaloi_, and we are born to trick and frighten mortals like you."

So that's what everybody was doing. They were afraid.

But Jason knew that wasn't an option. Not for him. His friends were all in danger. If he cowered in fear now, they were dead. And he couldn't let that happen.

"Well, you've scared your last victim, demon." And he charged.

Things went wrong immediately. When Jason stabbed at the leader, her sisters charged. One tackled him to the side. Another leapt onto him and raked her claws across his cheek. Jason could feel the warm blood trickling down.

He yelled, and threw them off. Raising his _gladius_, he chopped the head of a _kobalos _clean off, and did the same thing with about eleven more of them. Soon, losing their fear, his friends joined him. Jason saw Piper stabbing a _kobalos _with her dagger, and Leo lobbing fireballs at a group of the demons. Hazel and Frank were locked in combat with a pack of _kobaloi_, and Coach Hedge was slamming his baseball bat into their heads.

Then the leader came for him. Jason made the mistake of looking into her eyes.

He fell down, and saw a bright flash. Then he was in a different place. As far as he could see, the earth was black and burnt, and most of the ground was on fire. He saw a broken body lying on the ground, blood pooling around it. He could just make out a blackened eagle feather braided into burnt hair.

Jason choked back a sob. Piper.

He heard a voice, the one he'd come to hate. Gaea. "_Oh, little hero, see how I killed your girlfriend? Her blood will fuel me for eons. Now I just need yours."_

Then the image faded. He came back to the Argo II. In front of him, he saw a pile of dust and the head of the lead _kobalos_. Next to him, Piper stood, her dagger pointing downward, stained with blood.

Piper helped him up. "Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone.

Jason nodded, and then looked around. Everyone else seemed to be fine, except they were all a little cut up.

"All right then. Now that that's over, I say everybody get some breakfast, huh?"

Everybody grinned.


	3. Annabeth

When Annabeth woke up, she was falling.

In a flash, the recent events came rushing back to her. Breaking her ankle, tricking Arachne, finding the Athena Parthenos, and… falling into Tartarus.

Then she gasped. She hadn't fallen alone.

"Percy!" She yelled. "Percy!"

Then she looked down. Hanging onto her by her good foot was Percy. Annabeth could see the top of his head, his dark tangled hair.

"Percy! Talk to me! Are you alright?" Annabeth yelled.

For a moment, nothing happened. Percy was as lifeless as ever. Then he looked up, and, with great difficulty, nodded.

"Fine," he murmured. "I'm fine."

But Annabeth could tell that he wasn't. Worry flooded her as she saw how pale and strained his face was, stuck in a groan of pain.

"Percy, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry about me, Annabeth. What about you? How's your ankle?"

And just then, everything changed. Instead of answering Percy's question, Annabeth looked around, and saw a small stone ledge jutting out. Reaching out with lightning speed, she grabbed onto it, and they jerked to a stop. But only then did Annabeth realize how heavy they were joined together. Pulling up with all her strength, and with Percy helpfully swaying to gain momentum, she swung the two of them up, and they landed on the ledge. The both of them crawled towards the opening in the wall that the ledge jutted out from.

Once they were in the cave, Annabeth saw Percy draw out Riptide for light. Its bronze glow illuminated the small cave.

"Where are you hurt?" Percy asked immediately. Looking down, she analyzed herself for injuries.

Surprised, Annabeth replied, "I— I'm not. I mean, except for the obvious." She gestured to her broken ankle. "Are you?"

Percy looked away.

"Percy, where?"

And then she saw his leg.

"Oh, gods. Percy, how did this happen?" His right leg was raked with deep claw marks, still bleeding harshly, and the skin around it was green and sickly. Poisoned.

"Percy, tell me now, what happened while I was out?" Annabeth demanded, worry creeping into her voice. "What happened?"

Percy grimaced, and then began. "Tartarus." As if that explained everything.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, I _know _we're in Tartarus. But I'm talking about your leg. What happened to it?"

"No, I mean Tartarus, the spirit of the pit. The one who sired the giants. He was the one who did it. When we were falling, you were passed out, and Tartarus came and attacked."

Annabeth's eyes widened. The _real _Tartarus. She had only read the legends about the ferocious spirit. As Percy described Tartarus to her, a deep churning feeling dug into Annabeth's stomach.

"Percy… he actually attacked you? How are you even alive?"

Percy tried to grin, but it came out like more of a grimace. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. He said… he said he wanted to keep me alive for a little while longer, so he could have a bit more fun." Annabeth saw the steel in Percy's eyes, like he wanted to slash Tartarus into Chex Mix.

He would have to beat Annabeth to it, because the minute Tartarus showed up again, Annabeth was going to pulverize him.


	4. Chapter 4: Annabeth

ANNABETH

Sometimes, Annabeth marveled at the inconvenience monsters caused.

If they were going to arrive to kill her and her boyfriend, couldn't they have at least done it after she was done attempting to treat Percy's wound?

"Wait. I hear something." Percy murmured.

Annabeth listened hard. Then she heard it too— hissing. She stood up warily, drawing her dagger. "Show yourself," she commanded.

Of course, it didn't listen.

Percy stood up too, but crumpled to the ground. Annabeth winced as she saw his leg wound oozing again. Percy cursed. "Of course. It always has to happen at the most _convenient _time."

Annabeth yelled louder this time. "Show yourself!"

Then the most horrible, familiar voice, responded back. "Oh, but dearie, I could almost promise, you wouldn't want that."

Oh, gods.

"Percy, shield your eyes!" Annabeth yelled, just as Medusa leaped out from the cavern shadows, snakes hissing, talons extended.

Annabeth waited in horror. Did she warn Percy too late?

"Percy?"

"I'm fine. Where is she?" Annabeth was relieved to hear her boyfriend's voice.

Medusa cackled. "Right here!" Annabeth heard her lunge, but she couldn't sidestep, because she didn't know where she was going or whether or not she would be running away from Medusa or right into her. She heard Percy grunt as Medusa crashed into him.

"Percy!" she called. "Whatever you do, whatever she does, don't open your eyes!"

"Got that." He muttered. From what Annabeth could guess, Medusa had pinned him to the ground.

Medusa cackled. "Remember when we met so many years ago? You were such a young boy, and now look at you! A young _man_! But this time, I will be the one cutting _your _head off. Won't that be a pleasant change?"

"Um, how about no?"

Medusa snarled, and Annabeth wanted to cry as she heard talons rake flesh. She wanted to run away when she heard Percy cry out.

She heard the sound of something hitting the ground hard, and she could only hope it wasn't Percy.

"You killed my sisters. You killed me. You destroyed my home. But now, I will have my revenge. You are weak here, as the wound you have slowly spreads deathly poison to your heart. You know, my claws are poisonous too. Not as venomous as the claws of the great Tartarus, but still. Actually, I'm doing you a favor by killing you now. Living with all that poison coursing through your veins… well, I may want revenge, but even I couldn't do that to someone. Now, relax dear, and open your eyes."

"Percy, no! Don't do it! She's just trying to lure you into opening your eyes so that she can turn you to stone. She'll destroy you if you do!" Annabeth cried.

"Wasn't planning on it." Percy muttered. But then she heard him grunt as Medusa crashed into him again. Annabeth began planning. If Percy didn't kill Medusa soon, she would kill him, then move on to Annabeth. She needed something reflective. Something that Annabeth could use to see Medusa, without actually looking at her.

The laptop.

Quickly, while Medusa was distracted, Annabeth yanked Daedalus's laptop out of her back and pulled up a program. Her dyslexia jumbled the letters so they said OIRMRR, but Annabeth knew what it said. Mirror.

Carefully positioning the laptop, she made a slow advance on Medusa, dagger drawn. Annabeth visibly cringed as she saw the demon. She was indescribably horrible, almost painfully ugly.

Medusa never saw it coming. She was too busy attacking Percy, who seemed to be relying on all his instincts and senses, since sight was out of the question. Preparing, Annabeth raised her knife.

And she swung it behind her. In the mirror program, she saw her knife hit the target, and in a moment, Medusa was nothing but dust floating in the humid air.

Slowly, Annabeth turned around. "Percy, you can open your eyes now. It's okay, she's gone." She saw Percy open his eyes.

"Thanks. Without you, I would have been…"

Annabeth stifled tears. "Yeah. Come on, we'd better go, before she comes back."


	5. Chapter 5

Reyna

"Show no mercy! Destroy every last _graceus _you can find!"

Reyna winced internally as she heard Octavian frenzy the legion. Turning her head away, she closed her eyes and sighed.

Letting her thoughts wander, visions of happier times danced across her mind. Her thoughts strayed to a memory that Reyna had purposefully repressed since the Prophecy of Seven had begun.

She and Jason were sitting by themselves in the Senate House, after the Senate meeting. Sun shone through the glass windows, and the dome was warm with light. After Gwen and Dakota had left, having finished a serious discussion with herself and Jason about why the job of scooping Hannibal the Elephant's droppings was always unilaterally decided to be the Fifth Cohort's job, Jason had stood up and stretched.

Reyna couldn't help but notice how his purple Camp Jupiter sleeveless t-shirt complemented his blue eyes. His purple cape hung around his ankles, and his blond hair was cut perfectly. Jason's arms were muscular and just slightly tanned, and the clinging shirt emphasized his well muscled torso.

For no reason, Reyna's eyes wandered to his lips.

The small scar on his lips was intriguing. Reyna had always tried to figure out how he got the scar, but whenever she asked, he just smiled and winked, making Reyna's hear flutter.

"You up for it?"

Reyna blinked. "Sorry?"

"I was just gonna go down to the café in the city. You wanna come? I mean, you don't have to, like, if you have other things to be doing—"

"Um, no, no, I'd love to join you." Reyna said as calmly as possible. "Shall we go on Scipio?"

Jason grinned. "I was actually thinking somewhere along the lines of wind travel."

Reyna raised her eyebrow in question. Jason chuckled. "Come on. I'll show you what I mean."

So Reyna had followed Jason outside of the Senate Building, into a large cobblestone lane. It was quiet, so everyone must've either been asleep, or working. Jason lifted up his arms.

Reyna heard herself gasp as she and Jason were lifted up into the air, and shot through. Reyna could feel the wind whipping up her hair, no doubt making a rat's nest out of it.

But at that moment, Reyna didn't care. All she knew was that she was flying through the air, with Jason at her side, soaring over the entire city of New Rome.

When they landed, Reyna turned toward Jason, breathless. "How did you—how did you do that?"

"It's a Jupiter thing. You know." Jason replied.

Then after that, they'd sat in the café for hours, talking and laughing and joking. For a while, Reyna let go, releasing all of her formality, and turned into a free spirit. That had been one of the best days of her life.

Unlike now. The present, where the entire legion was plotting the downfall of innocent people who hadn't done anything to harm the Romans.

Then Reyna though about Percy. Unlike Jason, he was more of an infuriating, yet endearing type. He was definitely handsome, with his jet black hair, and green eyes, and slight tan. He was a skilled swordsman. A warrior. Not a schemer. Reyna recalled when she had first seen Percy. He and his girlfriend, Annabeth, had washed up on the shore of Circe's island, and Reyna, who had formerly been one of Circe's handmaidens, and taken a look at them. They looked battered and beaten up. But now, when Reyna thought about him, all she could think about was how she was alone.

She would never take Octavian. Gods, no. But Percy, or Jason…

Reyna shook her head to clear her mind. No, it was never going to happen. Reyna would have to focus on what was happening to her legion. She couldn't muddle her thoughts with things like this.

The legion cheered to Octavian's chanting. Reyna made a decision. She would do whatever it took to stop Octavian from leading the legion into unnecessary war.


	6. Chapter 6

Reyna

_Clank. Clank._

Reyna pulled the straps around her armor, buckling it tightly. Reaching out, her trembling hands found her armor helmet, and she slipped it over her head. Finally, she reached toward her gleaming Imperial Gold sword, and shoved it into the sheath in her armor.

Something screeched against her armor. She looked down and realized Aurum and Argentum were nuzzling their heads against her leg.

But their heads were vibrating.

Why? Reyna asked herself. They were shaking madly, like they were shivering from cold.

Then she realized that it was _her _shaking.

Reyna mentally scolded herself. Why was she being so weak? She'd seen the legion at war. She knew their strength. She'd seen what they could do. They could trample and destroy anything in their path. And with Octavian leading them, no Greek would be left alive.

So why was she so uneasy?

Reyna shook her head. She needed to focus. How would she hold the legion at bay? They were war-crazed and battle-hungry. They wanted to kill the Greeks who'd attacked their home.

But they didn't know the truth. They had no idea that the Greeks hadn't intentionally attacked New Rome.

But if Reyna tried to tell them, they wouldn't believe her. Anyway, what evidence did she have? She had no proof that it was an unintentional attack, and she knew that the legion would much rather believe Octavian's side of the story, with the Greeks being destructive and traitorous, than Reyna's.

She heard a knock on the hotel room door. "Who is it?"

"Octavian."

Reyna groaned silently. Putting on a professional face, she walked over and opened the door.

Octavian was standing outside. His hair was scrambled and ratty, and clearly visible underneath a baggy helmet that swayed on his head. His armor was about a hundred sizes too big, and rattled and clanked against him. The bulk of his armor emphasized the scrawniness of his arms. Yet he still wore a smug smile on his face.

"Praetor, the legion calls you to report to the meeting."

Reyna nodded. "Yes, I am ready. But wait," Reyna said, just as Octavian was turned around. Octavian raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking that maybe, we could wait a little while longer 'till we lay attack on the Greeks, because you don't have the full story."

Octavian was silent for a moment. "What?"

"I think that—"

"Don't…have…the…full…story? _Don't have the full story?" _Octavian shrieked. "What do you mean? You've gone soft on the Greeks! That's it! I knew, on the very day you were raised on a shield, I knew you were too weak. I knew you couldn't do it. I knew, someday, you would disgrace the legion, even more than you already have."

"Octavian." Reyna drew up to her full height. "I will not be spoken to that way. You are to treat your praetor with respect."

"Respect? _Respect?" _Octavian laughed shrilly. "You're impossible to respect! You're so weak you'd hold the legion back because you're too scared! You're too _weak!_ You can't lead. The legion needs someone who can lead them to victory. Someone who can lead them to spill the blood of every Greek, so that we can watch the earth pool in red."

Reyna was appalled. How could someone be so bloodthirsty, so power-hungry?

"You disgust me." Octavian continued. "But luckily, the Romans still have me. I will lead them to victory. They will not have to suffer under your pathetic lead any longer."

Reyna's eyes widened and she had time to gasp before she felt her hands being dragged behind her back, and her feet being swept from beneath her, then bound. She felt a sickly sweet tasting cloth being stuffed deep into her mouth, and being pushed into her throat by another one. Reyna tried to breath and flail, but her assailants kept her firmly bound, and she could only breathe in the horribly sweet air from the gag.

Octavian smirked. "Enjoy your nap, weakling. Don't worry. I'll just tell the legion you had been ambushed by a Greek force. All the more incentive for them to attack. "

Suddenly, Reyna felt a needle being pushed into her neck. She gasped more and tried to scream and kick, but it was useless. She glared up at Octavian.

"Oh, that? That's just something to paralyze your body, just so you won't escape. Don't fret, you'll still be able to think when you wake up. You just won't be able to move. Good night praetor. Sweet dreams."

Reyna felt her limbs falling. They thumped uselessly to the ground along with her head. Further to her dismay, she felt her eyes closing involuntarily. Her body became warm, and her vision went fuzzy. She needed sleep. Sleep sounded great just then.

The last thing she saw was Octavian leaving the door with her assailants before she sank into the warm black ocean of oblivion.


	7. Chapter 7: Jason

**Jason**

Jason knew he shouldn't have expected a break.

How could he? The gods were having personality problems, Percy and Annabeth were in Tartarus fighting for their lives, Gaea was waking, the giants were rising, the world would be destroyed in a month, the ship had been attacked by _kobaloi_, and they'd cursed him with a terrible fear of losing Piper to Gaea. It was hard to believe anything else could go wrong.

_Scratch that_, Jason thought. It wasn't hard to believe at all.

Every second he looked at Piper, Jason wanted to scream. He couldn't see her; instead, he saw the burnt, bleeding, dead image of her, breathing her last broken cry for him. Every minute he saw her, her lips seemed to say, _How could you have let this happen? I thought you cared about me._

And every time he heard that, Jason wanted to die. _Yes! _he wanted to scream. _Yes, I do care about you!_

"Hey, Jason." Jason looked up, hoping it wouldn't be Piper. He couldn't stand to see the horrible picture of her he saw every time he looked at her.

Instead, it was Hazel. Her golden eyes analyzed him uncertainly, as if she was nervous to be with a sixteen year old, being only thirteen herself.

"Oh, uh, hey, Hazel. Come in."

Hazel stepped in. She was wearing a white skirt and a white shirt, covered by a buttoned up denim jacket. Very old timey schoolgirl-ish, Jason thought.

"Hey, um," she sniffled, "I just want to talk to you, about, you know, what happened."

Jason understood immediately. Percy was like her big brother, and he knew she had grown to like Annabeth. Losing them must've been awful for her.

"Look, what happened happened. It's not your fault. We _will _get them back." Jason tried to sound encouraging, like a leader, but he sounded pathetic, even to himself.

Hazel sniffled. "Yeah, you're right. We will. But… I'm worried about Leo. He's been crushing himself ever since it happened, and," Hazel's voice broke, "I can't let him do that. You have to help me convince Leo that it wasn't his fault."

"Oh, yeah, of course! But why does Leo think it's his fault? I mean, I've heard stuff about a fortune cookie, but…"

Hazel wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Well, you remember when he and I went to find Celestial bronze for the ship? Well, on the way, we met Nemesis, and she gave him a fortune cookie. She said that it would give him an answer when he needed it, but it would come with a price much worse than an eye." Hazel began to choke up, but regained some of her composure. "So, when Frank and I were shocked by those eidolons, and we were unconscious, he saved us by activating the spheres, but he needed a pass code, so he had to break open the cookie to get it. And now he thinks that because he broke the cookie, Percy and Annabeth were the price." With that, she broke into tears.

Jason had trouble following all that, but he got the overall message. "Oh. I get it. I can't believe out of all the people, Leo thinks it's _his _fault. Hazel, I promise, we'll help Leo. And we _will _get Percy and Annabeth back, no matter what happens."

Hazel only nodded.

Her silence made Jason uneasy. Didn't she trust him? He knew that Annabeth didn't really trust him, hard as he tried to make her. This entire journey, he had been leaning on Percy to help him lead, because he couldn't imagine having to shoulder that weight by himself. When he thought about it, he didn't even _want _to be leader, but there was nobody else who would do it. Piper and Hazel wouldn't want to, Leo would be busy with the ship and the spheres, and Frank… well, Frank was more of a shy person. Jason didn't think he'd be up to the challenge.

So that left him.

"Well, I'll be leaving then. I'm gonna check up on Frank, you know, see how he's doing." Hazel said.

Jason nodded. "See you at dinner."

Hazel acknowledged him and left.

_Maybe I should check on Piper, and see how she is, _Jason thought. _Maybe that'll help me clear my thoughts._

He walked over to Piper's cabin, and found her sitting on her bed, thinking. As hard as he tried, he couldn't help seeing the awful image of her. Her beautiful features and rosy cheeks were whisked into a mess of ash. Her luscious chocolate brown hair was blackened, eagle feather nothing but a stem in her hair, skin torn and bleeding.

Jason froze.

"Jason? What's wrong?" The dead image was speaking now, tears streaming out of its eyes, but speaking like regular Piper. "What happened?"

Jason could barely force the words out. "Uh, I, I just…" Jason stumbled through the words. "Um, it's time for lunch."

He turned and promptly bumped into the door frame, gathered himself, and left.


	8. Chapter 8

**Jason**

_Idiot. You idiot. _Jason thought to himself.

Like a fool, Jason had stumbled into Piper's room, jumbled his words, chickened out, and told her it was lunch time at nine in the morning. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he'd turned so fast the blood rushed to his head, causing him to go dizzy and bump into the door frame like a clown, then tripped out of the room.

What was happening to him? He needed to be fearless. He needed to be a role model. A good leader.

_It's too much. I'm not strong enough. I can't!_

Then Jason mentally slapped himself back to sanity. It didn't _matter. _He had to pretend he was. A Latin quote popped into his head: _'Impavidus homines tantum esse potest prospere'._ It meant '_Fearless men can only be successful'_.

He had to be fearless. Even if he wasn't successful.

_Well, _Jason thought glumly. _ Might as well have the lunch that I told Piper was happening. Then I won't have to show up and tell her, "Oh yeah, I was three hours early. Sorry about that!"_

When he arrived in the dining hall, he saw a fat baby man.

Truly. The man was short, only five feet tall, if even that. He had an extremely childish face, with pasty pale skin. Calling his stomach huge would've been an insult to huge-bellied people. The man could've been a hot air balloon for puppies. His eyes were closed.

Most prominently, he was wearing footie pajamas. They were periwinkle blue, with soft teddy bears that said, _Nighty Night! _on their stomachs.

Jason could smell his breath from five feet away. It was a combination of morning breath and milk. Disgusting.

Quickly, Jason drew his gladius. At the sight of the sword, the baby man winced, and for a moment, his form flickered. He turned into a taller, less chubby man with a black trimmed beard, wearing a goat skin cloak, and a ceremonial knife in a scabbard hung by his side. This man was grumpier, less peaceful than he was in baby man form. But he quickly flickered back to his footie pajamas.

Despite his off-putting aura, Jason knew who he was.

"Somnus. Uh, I mean… Hypnos… I think."

His eyes never opened, but he spoke sleepily. "Yes, child, it is I. The great and powerful," he gave a great big yawn, "Hypnos."

"So, uh…" Jason was at a loss for words. "Um, Som— Hypnos. What are you doing here?"

Hypnos snored, then woke up. "Uh? Oh, yes, I'm the… I'm the great and… and powerful…"

_Conk!_

Hypnos's head banged against the dining table as he fell asleep. He woke up again.

"Keep the pancakes coming, Mother! Oh, hello, Jason Grace. What…" He yawned. "What can I do for you?"

Jason raised an eyebrow. He knew it wouldn't be smart to make an enemy of a god, but this was starting to get annoying.

"Well, you could start by staying awake."

Hypnos gave a sleepy chuckle. "Feisty, eh? All right, all right, I'm up."

"Ok. Um… so what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you, Jason Grace. With your vision problem."

Jason was about to protest that his eyesight was perfectly fine without the help of a god who could barely keep his eyes _open_, when he realized what Hypnos was talking about. His visions about Piper.

"What can _you _do for me?"

Hypnos actually woke up enough to give a loud-ish laugh. "You don't read much, do you? Have you any clue what hypnosis is?"

Jason wanted to answer that but his understanding of hypnosis was pretty simple. Which meant that he knew about enough to think that if a guy held a swinging watch in front of your face, you'd be his puppet.

"Well, no." Jason admitted.

"No. Then let me explain it to you. You see, child, hypnosis is complex. The mortals would have you believe it's a simple form of sleep. But it isn't. It's complex magic. Your mind is stronger than you think it is. That's why it takes a lot of magic to entrance someone. And it's easier if the subject is willing. Otherwise, they may gather enough willpower to break the trance. In a nutshell, what I'm saying is… I can cure you of your visions about your dead girlfriend, if you'll let me."

"She's not dead. She'll never be dead. Not as long as I live." Jason spoke a little more forcefully than he meant to.

Hypnos waved the comment aside. "Yes, yes, whatever," he said impatiently. "What's your answer?"

Jason thought about it. Did he really trust a god who fell asleep in the range of half a second to hypnotize him? Could he even be sure if it was Hypnos, and not one of Gaea's minions messing with his head?

But the alternative. That he could look Piper in the eye and not see her dead face.

_But I can't trust him. I know I can't._ Jason was at war with himself. He didn't know.

His mind flashed back to a long time before, at camp. Piper had named him the leader of their quest to New Rome.

And a leader didn't get breaks. A leader learned to conquer his fear himself.

And with Percy and Annabeth gone, the others needed a leader more than ever.

"No."

Hypnos raised a sleepy eyebrow. "Sorry? Did you just _reject _my generous offer?"

Before Jason could reply with an explanatory apology, Hypnos laughed. "Ha! I take the exhausting strain of getting up to help you, even cure you with most of my magical reserves, and you say _no_? Well, hear my words, Jason Grace, I will not offer again!" Hypnos warned. "This is your last chance. You cannot overcome your fears without me!"

Jason tightened his hands into fists. "I've overcome all my problems for the past sixteen years. And I'll overcome this one. Be gone, Hypnos."

Hypnos's face reddened. "You, Jason Grace, have just made a serious mistake." With that, Jason shielded his eyes, and Hypnos disappeared in a flash.


End file.
